Tuesday, May 22, 2012

"Do you think they'll eventually stop
trapping and blocking shots long enough to
notice we stopped playing ten minutes ago?"

The Eastern Conference finals between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils continues this week, and in a series dominated by defensive play and low-scoring games, no two stars are getting more attention than goaltenders Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist.

On the surface, Brodeur and Lundqvist are similar players: Elite goaltenders for Atlantic Division powerhouses who’ve racked up plenty of all-star appearances, rewritten franchise record books and built stellar international resumes. But look deeper, and you’ll find some subtle differences between these two stars.

Brodeur – Turns away NHL shooters by employing a hybrid style that combines aspects of the butterfly technique with a more traditional stand-up approach.Lundqvist – Turns away NHL shooters by lifting his mask and gently saying “Look at this face, would you really want to be responsible for making it frown?”

Lundqvist – Developed a reputation for quickness early in his career by frequently diving across the crease to stop sure goals.Brodeur – Developed a reputation for quickness early in his career by frequently diving across the crease to avoid the incoming severed heads of forwards who hadn’t noticed that Scott Stevens was nearby.

Brodeur – Has scored a goal into the other team’s empty net in both the playoffs and the regular season.Lundqvist – Would love to score a goal, but every time he tries a Rangers defenceman sprawls out to block the shot and then mumbles “Sorry, force of habit”.

Lundqvist – Spent his early years playing hockey in local rinks in his native Sweden, where he was frequently mistaken for his identical twin brother Joel.Brodeur – Would often accompany his photographer father to Montreal Canadiens practices as a small child, where he was frequently mistaken for Mats Naslund.Brodeur – Along with Frank McCool, owns the record for most shutout games in a Stanley Cup final with three.Lundqvist – Along with Jonathan Quick, will soon own the record for most shutout periods in game one of the Stanley Cup final with fourteen, before the league just gives up and cancels the whole series.

Lundqvist – Gained experience playing hockey without ice when he led Sweden to a gold medal in 2002 Inline Hockey World Championships.Brodeur – Has no experience playing hockey without ice, unless you count the third period of last week’s games at Madison Square Garden.

Brodeur – Surprisingly, enters this year having never won the Conn Smythe Trophy in his career, since even in his best seasons there was always at least one other player who had a dominant playoffs.Lundqvist – Also enters this year having never won the Conn Smythe Trophy, since the league typically doesn’t give that award out after one round.

Lundqvist – In 2011, opened a restaurant called “Tiny’s” with Ranger teammate Sean Avery.Brodeur – Has spent years listening to Sean Avery personally suggest various names for a restaurant of his own, none of which involved the word “Tiny”.

Brodeur – Claimed gold medals in both 2002 and 2010 when he was part of the Team Canada roster that beat Team USA.Lundqvist – Claims to have won a gold medal with Team Sweden in 2006, and everyone just sort of nods instead of admitting that we secretly stop paying attention to Olympic hockey as soon as the North American teams are eliminated.

Lundqvist – In an attempt to pay him the highest compliment they can think of, New York fans and media frequently refer to him as “King Henrik”.Brodeur – In an attempt to pay him the highest compliment they can think of, New Jersey fans and media frequently refer to him as “Martin Brodeur”.

Brodeur – Could be in the final season of his career, thanks to his advancing age.Lundqvist – Could be in the final season of his career, thanks to the upcoming ten-year lockout over how to divide up three billion dollars.

Lundqvist – Spends his spare time modeling for fashion magazines and playing guitar in a rock band.Brodeur – Spends his spare time wishing he was Henrik Lundqvist, probably, although maybe I’m just projecting.

Brodeur – Became the only member of an exclusive club when he won his 600th career NHL game.Lundqvist – Became the only member of an exclusive club when he asked coach John Tortorella how he was doing, received a one-word answer, and then didn’t immediately write three dozen articles complaining about it.

Scott Stevens ..... What an cheap shot artist. Doesn't even belong in the HHOF. Some think he was some great leader. hahaha He couldn't shine Messier's shoes when it comes to being a leader and Messier has 6 rings to prove that. Stevens has nothing today. No one wants him for broadcasting so what does he do? Hope he saved some of the chump change he made as a Devil.

Queen Mary doesn't beat King Henry you idiot. I'm going to take for granted you're one of the exceptions of the majority of Devils fans and have at least a 9th grade education and can read stats.Look at this years stats ....http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/stats/bycategory?cat=Goaltending&conference=NHL&year=season_2011&sort=112

Queen Mary didn't finish in the top 5 or 10 of ANY goaltending category.